Sayuri Komachi is different from any librarian you've probably ever met. Nestled deep in the Hatori Community House is a special library, with a very special librarian. Ms Komachi, the Community House's reference librarian, will ask you one simple question:
What are you looking for?
She will rap her fingers against her computer keyboard, print out a list of books for you, and one of them may very well change your life. Don't mind the bonus gift: Ms Komachi is fond of her wool felting and now—oh no!—she's gone back to her felting. You take the bonus gift, locate the recommended books amongst the shelves with the help of Nozomi, the library assistant, and Nozomi will help you borrow the cards with the help of your crisp new borrower's card. But when you get get home, you recall that one of these books is not like the others. One of these may very much be exactly what you are looking for.
So goes What you are looking for is in the library, the 2020 novel by Michiko Aoyama and translated by Alison Watts. I came across this book accidentally at a bookstore while Christmas shopping, and the title immediately drew me in. Unfortunately, it only came into the library this month—as it felt apt to borrow this book from the library—but it was definitely worth the wait. This book is a collection of short stories about the interconnected tales of various library patrons. There's Tomoka, a young womenswear sales assistant who feels stuck in her job; Ryo, in his thirties, who wants to start an antiques stores one day; Natsumi, who is struggling with both her career and motherhood; Hiroya, a NEET who feels directionless and has lost his appreciation for art; and Masao, a retiree who's struggling to find himself after decades in the workforce.
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